Resource for Written and Communicative English

Author: Nasim M. Sarkar

As a student, my first and foremost duty is to study hard and take part in the activities of the school. I must have to gain knowledge so that I may be a responsible and successful citizen of my country. I take part in the co-curricular activities of my school for my all-round development.

My second duty is to respect my teachers and the elders. They are the mentors who will guide me whenever I need. Without proper guidance it is impossible to attain a definite goal.

My third duty is to be disciplined and punctual. I follow a disciplined life. I have prepared a daily routine which I follow strictly. I perform my tasks in time. I never postpone my tasks at hand.

My fourth duty is to take part in recreational activities and sports. I play cricket with my friends after school and on holidays. This keeps me healthy and energetic and helps in my studies. Besides sports, I have a hobby of gardening. It gives me immense pleasure.

My fifth duty is to maintain cleanliness. It is said that cleanliness is godliness. I wash my clothes on weekends and holidays. I keep my room and my school clean and orderly. I throw waste papers in garbage bins.

My sixth duty is to obey the rules of my school and my country. I follow the orders of my teachers. Likewise, I never go against the rules of my country. I have great respect for my school and my country.

My seventh duty is to help and love the younger children. I help my younger brothers in their studies. I share everything with them and play together.

Introduction:- Mahatma Gandhi once said, “sanitation is more important than independence”. Gandhiji wanted Indians to lead a clean and hygienic life. But, unfortunately, Indians continued leading an unhygienic lifestyle even after six decades since independence. In order to materialise Gandhiji’s dream of a clean India, the ruling BJP took the decisive step of launching a cleanliness drive termed Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, also known as Clean India Drive.
About the drive/campaign:- It was inaugurated on 2nd October in 2014 (the 145th birth anniversary of Gandhiji) by the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajghat, New Delhi. The aims of this drive are — (i) to discourage defection on the open, (ii) to stop manual scavenging, (iii) to install sanitary toilets, (iv) to recycle or dispose waste materials, and (v) to encourage private enterprises for cleanliness.
Need for this drive:- The involvement of private enterprises in this drive would generate employment and increase GDP growth. It will reduce mortality rate and health-related expenses. It will also attach tourists to India.
Conclusion:- The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Drive is the biggest ever cleanliness drive in India. It will be a success only if we Indians cooperate wholeheartedly with the government in this drive. We must remember the saying, “Cleanliness is next to godliness”.

What is cleanliness : Cleanliness is the habit of keeping our body mind and environment clean. It should be cultivated from early life. There is a saying — “Cleanliness is godliness”.

Why it is important : The habit of cleanliness helps us maintain good health. If we keep our body, clothes and environment clean, germs can not attack us easily. Moreover, a dirty person is disliked and avoided by everyone. The habit of cleanliness marks the personality and manners of a person. So we should keep ourselves and our environment clean.How to maintain cleanliness : We should brush our teeth, oil our hair, bathe daily and wear washed clothes. We should keep away from dirt. We should …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

How can we know ifa sentence is in Active Voice or Passive Voice? Here’s the rule :

The sentence is in Passive Voice if there are — am/is/are/was/were/be/been/being + Past Participle form of Main Verb

Otherwise it is in Active Voice.

Tell whether the following sentences are in Active Voice or Passive Voice:

(1) I don’t know him.

(2) She is writing a letter.

(3) Students are being taught by the teacher.

(4) He was seen in the market yesterday.

(5) We have arranged a picnic next month.

(6) My bicycle has been lost.

Answers : (1) Act, (2) Act, (3) Pass, (4) Pass, (5) Act, (6) Pass .

Rules for changing from Active Voice to Passive Voice :

(1) Subject and Object change position with each other. Pronoun in Subjective Case (I, we, he etc) changes to Objective Case (me, us, him etc) and vice versa.

(2) Complement(s) remain at the same place.

(3) If there is no Auxiliary Verb in Active Voice then use “Be Verbs” (am/is/are/was/were) in Passive Voice as per Tense and Number.

(4) If there is do/does/did as Auxiliary Verb then don’t use it in Passive Voice. In this case use “Be Verbs”.

(5) Always use Past Participle form of Main Verb in Passive Voice.

(6) If there is a Modal Auxiliary Verb (such as shall, should, will, would, can, could, may, might, must, need, dare, ought to and used to) then add the Verb “be” before Main Verb.

(7) If there is have/has/had as Auxiliary Verb then add the Verb “been” before Main Verb.

(8) If there is a Present Participle form (also known as “-ing form”) of Main Verb then use the verb “being ” before Main Verb in Passive Voice.

(9) If there is a Preposition right after the Main Verb then it will remain in the same position (i.e right after the Main Verb).

(10) Add ‘by’ Preposition before Subject in Passive Voice.

[But remember, ‘By’ is not absolutely necessary in Passive Voice. If the Subject is removed in Passive Voice (See Rule 13) then ‘by’ is also not needed. Sometimes other prepositions such as to/at/with may be used in place of ‘by’ (See Rule 12). ]

(11) If there are two Objects in Active Voice then the second Object (Direct Object) will be placed right after the Main Verb in Passive Voice.

(12) If there is a Verb or Word like know, satisfy, dissatisfy, pleased, displeased, vexed, surprised then there will be ‘to’/’at’/’with’ instead of ‘by’ in Passive Voice. In the case of ‘know’ there will be ‘to’. In the case of the other Words there will be either ‘with’ (a person) or ‘at’ (a person’s something or any other thing)

(13) If there is “I” or “We” as Subject then there is no need to use it in Passive Voice.

(14) If the sentence is an Interrogative Sentence (?) then —

(i) Who –> By who

(ii) Whom –> Who

(iii) What + S –> What (no change)

(iv) What – S (no Subject) –> By what

(v) Which/Whose + O –> Which/Whose + O (i.e., no change)

(vi) Other Question Words such as Where, When, Why, How doesn’t change.

All these Question Words will always remain at the beginning of the sentence in Passive Voice.

The Midnight Visitor
Short Answer Type Questions: 2/3 marks each
1. How was Ausable different from other secret agents?
2. What did Ausable say about the ‘paper’ to Fowler?
3. What was the discussion of the report that took place between Ausable and Max?
4. What did Ausable say about the room where he was staying? What did Ausable tell Max about the balcony and why?
5. What is your perspective about the intruder in Ausable’s room?
Essay Type Questions : 4/5 marks each
1. Describe the meeting between Ausable and Fowler.
2. Describe the meeting between Ausable and Max.
3. What is your perspective about Ausable as a secret agent?
4. How was the physique of Ausable? State his command over Ianguage.
5. Describe how Ausable outsmarted Max. A Question of Trust
Short Answer Type Questions : 2/3 marks each
1. Give a brief account of Horace Danby.
2. How did Horace Danby show dexterity in robbing?
3. Why did he steal every year?
4. What was the thought that striked him about the fifteen thousand pounds worth of jewel?
5. What were the precautionary steps taken by Horace Danby regarding finger prints?
6. What was written in the magazine article?
7. How did the woman look?
8. What did the woman tell Horace Danby about the jewellery?
9. ls the title of the story appropriate? If so, why?
Essay Type Questions : 4/5 marks each
1. “Horace Danby was good and respectable but not completely honest”. Why do you think this description is apt for Horace? Why can’t he be categorized as a typical thief?
2. Horace Danby was a meticulous planner but still he faltered. Where did he go wrong and why?
3. Describe the meeting between Horace Danby and the lady. How did the lady display her meticulousness in outwitting Horace Danby? Give reasons for your answer. Footprints Without Feet
Short Answer Type Questions . 2/3 marks each
1. Who was Griffin? What experiment did he make?
2. Why did Griffin slip into a big London store?
3. What did Griffin do inside the big London store?
4. Why did he go to Drury Lane?
5. What did he do inside a shop in Drury Lane?
6. What did Griffin tell Mrs. Hall, the landlord’s wife?
7. Why did Mrs. Hall find Griffin eccentric?
8. What curious episode took place at the inn? Why was Griffin suspected of stealing money from the clergyman’s desk?
9. Why were the people at the bar shocked and horrified?
Essay Type Questions : 4/5 markscach
1. Do you think Griffin was a lawless person? Explain.
2. Science is a boon but also a curse. How is the negative aspect of science reflected through the character of Griffin?
3. What happened to the landlord and his wife in Griffin’s room? The Hack Driver
Short Answer Type Questions : 2/3 marks each
1. Give a brief account of the narrator.
2. Why did the narrator not like his profession?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Ans: To her surprise, Margie found that the texts on the pages didn’t move the way they were supposed to on a television or a computer screen. Besides, she was wondered why anyone would write about school.

5. What do you think a telebook is?

Ans: A telebook book is a sort of virtual book that can be displayed and read on a television screen.

6. Where was Margie’s school? Did she have any classmates?

Ans: Margie’s school was right next to her bedroom.

No, she didn’t have any classmates.

7. What subjects did Margie and Tommy learn?

Ans: Margie and Tommy learned geography, history and arithmetic.

II. Answer the following with reference to the story.1. “I wouldn’t throw it away.”

(i) Who says these words?

(ii) What does ‘it’ refer to?

(iii) What is it being compared with by the speaker?

Ans:

(i) Tommy said these words.

(ii) ‘It’ refers to the television at their home.

(iii) Tommy is comparing the television to the real books in earlier times in which words were printed on paper. He thought that after reading such books, one would have to throw them away. However, he would never throw his telebooks away as their television could contain millions of telebooks.

2. “Sure they had a teacher, but it wasn’t a regular teacher. It was a man.”

(i) Who does ‘they’ refer to?

(ii) What does ‘regular’ mean here?

(iii) What is it contrasted with?

Ans:

(i) They refer to the students who studied in the old kind of schools centuries before.

(ii) Here, ‘regular’ refers to the mechanical teachers that Tommy and Margie had.

(iii) The mechanical teacher is contrasted with the teachers of earlier times, who were real human beings.

III. Answer each of these questions in a short paragraph (about 30 words).

1. What kind of teachers did Margie and Tommy have?

Ans: Margie and Tommy had mechanical teachers. They were large and black and ugly. They had large black screens on which all the lessons were shown and questions were asked. The students had to put their homework and test papers inside the slot the mechanical teachers had on their body. They had to write their answers in a punch code and the mechanical teacher could calculate the marks at once.

2. Why did Margie’s mother send for the County Inspector?

Ans: Margie had been giving test after test in geography. But her performance was getting worse and worse. That’s why Margie’s mother sent for the County Inspector to find out if anything is wrong.

3. What did he do?

Ans: The County Inspector gave Margie an apple and started mending the mechanical teacher. He took it apart and then checked it. To Margie’s disappointment, he managed to reassemble it. He slowed down the geography sector of the teacher because it was geared a little too quick for an average ten-year-old.

4. Why was Margie doing badly in geography? What did the County Inspector do to help her?

Q1 .. What are the qualities of a “gentleman”? Work with your partner and complete the following web-chart by listing the qualities of a gentleman.​

Ans: A gentleman should be honest, sincere, courteous, noble, humble, grateful, cheerful, amicable, sociable, polished, disciplined and punctual.Q2 .. Based on your discussion above, what do you think the story is about?

Ans: The story is about the display of gentlemanly behaviour of two gentlemen hailing/coming from Verona, an Italian town.Q3 .. What do you understand by the following statements?

(a) “We do many things, sir,” Nicola answered seriously. He glanced at us hopefully.

Ans: The two boys Nicola and Jacopo do many sorts of things to make a living. Sometimes they are seen selling wild-strawberries, sometimes shining shoes, sometimes guiding tourists through the town to Verona and sometimes selling newspapers. They were eagerly looking at the author and his driver Luigi for a positive response.(b) He coloured deeply under his sunburn, then grew pale.

Ans: When the author asked Nicola what they did with the earnings, he was embarrassed. He did not want to disclose it as he was unwilling to draw sympathy from anyone. He and his brother Jacopo earned the needed money by hard work and honest ways in order to sustain the expenses of their ailing sister Lucia. They had much self-respect and determination. So Nicola grew pale while trying to maintain secrecy.(c) He smiled uncomfortably. “Just plans, Sir,” he answered in a low voice.

Ans: Nicola was uncomfortable talking to the author because the author had repeatedly tried to extract his plans. He even asked him whether they were planning to go to America. But, Nicola and Jacopo, whose first preference was to make their sister recover from spinal tuberculosis, did not want anybody’s sympathy. So they tried to evade answering the question by simply saying “just plans”.(d) Yet in both these boyish faces there was a seriousness which was far beyond their years.

Ans: Nicola and Jacopo had to face much hardship since their childhood. They were rendered motherless by cruel fate and their father had been killed in a shelling at their house. Being homeless they joined the army to fight the Germans. When the war was over they returned to find their sister suffering from spinal tuberculosis. In order to afford her medical expenses they had to do a variety of works at a tender age. They lost much of their child-like behaviour and began behaving like adults in terms of taking responsibilities and earning money.6. (a) Why didn’t Luigi, the driver, approve of the two boys?

Ans: Luigi, the driver, thought them to be impostors trying to fleece wayfarers and travelers. Their appearance and attires looked uncouth and shabby.6. (b) Why were the narrator and his companion impressed by the two boys?

Ans: The narrator and his companion were impressed with the simplicity, behaviour and seriousness of the two boys.6.(c) Why was the author surprised to see Nicola and Jacopo working as shoeshine boys?

Ans: The author was surprised to find Nicola and Jacopo working as shoeshine boys as he had seen seen them selling wild strawberries the other day.6.(d) How were the boys useful to the author?

Ans: The boys were used by the author to buy American cigarettes, or book seats for the opera, or suggest the name of a good restaurant.6. (e) Why were the boys in the deserted square at night? What character traits do they exhibit?

Ans: The boys were waiting at the deserted square at night to catch the last bus to Poleta so that they could sell off the remaining unsold newspapers.

They exhibit the character traits of forbearance, determination and sense of responsibility.6. (f) The narrator asks the boys, “Must you work so hard? You both look rather tired.”

The boys reply, “We are not complaining, Sir.” What do you learn about the boys from their reply?

Ans: The reply from the boys show them to be unfaultering at times of hardship. Rather than complaining about their plight, they were struggling hard with a positive attitude to overcome difficulties and change their condition. That’s the spirit we need to learn at our times of adversity.(g) When the narrator asks the boys about their plans, they are evasive. Why don’t they disclose their problems?

Ans: Though the boys were poor, they were free. They earned whatever they could by honest means. They wanted to solve the problems on their own. Rather than garnering sympathy and financial support from others by telling their sob-story, they preferred maintaining their self-respect. They were born of a noble family. So they had nobility in their attitude. Besides they were able to provide for the necessary medical expenses for their sister every week even though working hard. So they didn’t disclose their problems with the author.7. Discuss the following questions and write the answers in your notebook.

(a) Appearances are deceptive. Discuss with reference to the two boys.

Ans: The two boys, Nicola and Jacopo, were dressed in shabby, worn-out clothes. One of them was wearing a worn out Jersey and cut-off khaki pants, and the other was wearing a shortened army tunic. They had brown skin, tangled hair and dark eyes. The first impression, if one sees them, would be negative. The author and his driver had the same impression too. It’s only when they got to know these two boys later that they could see the warmth in their hearts, the sense of responsibility, the undaunted spirit, the honesty and the simplicity in them. Good appearance doesn’t make a gentleman. One needs to possess the ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

A sentence like “John has done the work” can be expressed in this way too — “The work has been done by John”. There is almost no difference in the meanings, but there is difference in emphasis. In the first sentence, emphasis is put upon the doer of the action i.e. “John” (meaning none but John has done the work). In the second sentence, emphasis is put upon “the work” (emphasis is on the completion of the work rather than on the doer of the action). In this sentence we can do away with “John” as such “The work has been done”. So, let me tell you the grammatical terms associated with each type of sentences. The first type of sentence is said to be in the Active Voice and the second type of sentence is said to be in the Passive Voice.

How can we identify a sentence in the Passive Voice easily? Remember this structure — S+am/is/are/was/were/be/been/being+Past Participle

Sentences in the above structure can be identified as in the Passive Voice, otherwise it’s in the Active Voice.

Remember that certain kinds of sentences can’t be changed into the other voice form, particularly sentences having intransitive verbs. “I slept well” or “She is a girl”, ” He was born in London” are such sentences.

Now, lets come to identifying the Subject, Object, Complement in a sentence. To identify these, you have to identify the Verb(s) first. Then ask the following questions using the Wh- words and the Verb(s) :

Who <Verb> ? : Subject

Whom <Verb> ? : Object-1 (Indirect Object)

What <Verb> ? : Object-2 (Direct Object)

How <Verb> ? : Complement

Where <Verb> ? : Complement

When <Verb> ? : Complement

Why <Verb> ? : Complement

Let’s take a sentence for example, “I offered the beggar a blanket sympathetically at my home yesterday because he was shivering in cold.”

Who <offered> ? : I (Sub.)

Whom <offered> ? : the beggar (Obj.-1)

What <offered> ? : a blanket (Obj.-2)

How <offered> ? : sympathetically (Com.)

Where <offered> ? : at my home (Com.)

When <offered> ? : yesterday (Com.)

Why <offered> ? : because he was shivering in cold ( Com.)

Only after identifying the Subject, Verb, Object and Complement can we proceed towards changing of voice. Before that we should keep in mind the following points :

(6) In Passive Voice form, the proposition ‘by’ is generally used before the Subject. Though other propositions like to, at, with are used in case of certain verbs such as ‘know’, ‘satisfy’, ‘please’, ‘vex’, ‘annoy’ etc.

(7) Complements never change their position. It can be anywhere in the semtence. In Passive Voice it should be left in the same position.

An example to understand this better –

Act. :- Mr Peters teaches English well.

Pass. :- English is taught by Mr Peters well.

In the Active Voice sentence, there is no Auxiliary, but the Passive Voice sentence has (‘is’). In the A.V. sentence ‘teaches’ is not a Past Participle form, but in the P.V. sentence ‘taught’ is a Past Participle form. The Subject ‘Mr Peters’ and the Object ‘English’ change positions with each other. The Complement ‘well’ (How <teaches> ?) remains in the same position. That’s all for today. The remaining part of the tutorial will be posted subsequently. Keep visiting and give feedback in the comments box below.

Tense, Voice and Narration were close friends. They went to a renowned school called “English Grammar School”. They always sat together on the first bench and didn’t want to mingle with others. They were muscular and moody sort of boys. So no one dared sitting with them. One day, Noun and Pronoun requested to sit with them, and were allowed. Preposition and Determiner entered classroom a little bit late that day. They used to sit with Noun and Pronoun, but were disheartened to see them sit there. Noun and Pronoun offered to go to another bench to sit with them. But, Preposition and Determiner were determined to take their positions on the first bench. They were fed up with the behaviour of Tense and his friends. So they signalled them not to go and asked Tense and his friends to leave the bench to them. But Tense, Voice and Narration refused and looked at them red-eyed. Preposition and Determiner rebuked them and used foul language. Noun and Pronoun also indulged in name-calling. The verbal abuse grew into severe fight. By that time, Adjective joined the fight taking Noun’s side A great hue and cry was raised. Interjection, the only girl in the class, was so frightened that she kept on exclaiming with fear. Main Verb and Auxiliary Verb came running to stop the fight. But, unfortunately, Main Verb stumbled and fell on the ground. Auxiliary Verb helped him stand up. They requested them but no one was willing to listen. Conjunction, the class monitor, slipped out of the classroom to call in a teacher. Their English teacher Mr Syntax rushed to the classroom. When he entered, everyone became silent. He asked Narration, “What’s the matter? Why are you quarreling?” Narration started narrating, “Sir, Preposition and Determiner told us to leave our bench and sit elsewhere. When we refused, they used slang words and physically assaulted us.” Voice, who generally remains active, spoke up in a passive voice, “I’ve got severely injured, sir. One of my teeth has been broken by these goons”. Tense was so tense that he could hardly speak. Mr Syntax turned to Preposition and his companions and said, “What would you say on this?” Preposition said …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………